Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PMDG 737NGX Introduction PDF
PMDG 737NGX Introduction PDF
1
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
PMDG 737NGX
Introduction and Use
Copyright © 2011
PMDG Simulations
All Rights Reserved
You should also be aware that you may not use this simulation software
for any training, pilot familiarization, recurrent training or operational
awareness training.
Please note that this version of the simulation may or may not accurately
represent the actual operation of many different aircraft systems and no
warranty is made to accuracy or correctness.
This simulation may not be used in any public or private display for which
users are charged admission, usage fees or other revenue generating
charges. Nor may the simulation be used in any manner which reflects
poorly on PMDG, PMDG Simulations, Boeing, Boeing’s employees,
suppliers or customers.
We take great pride on the cohesion and dedication of our beta team
members, and we place significant demands on their time, their expertise
and occasionally their patience.
We would also like to thank our dedicated team of beta testers who have
worked tirelessly to help us improve the quality of this product. Any lapses
are ours…
http://support.PrecisionManuals.com
Our policy on answering support tickets is that you should receive a reply
from us within 24hrs, depending on the type of request you submit. Our
average reply time to tickets is generally less than 6 hours and our
support team is dedicated to getting you up and running as quickly as
possible.
Please Note: The support ticket system will require you to create a login
that is unique to this system.
For the past few years, flight simulation developers have been competing
for attention by using phrases like: “most realistic,” “most accurate,”
“Certified by Real Pilots,” or “Most Accurate Ever.” While some of these
claims have merit, our own experience as flight-sim consumers has
generally led us to believe that marketing is always marketing, and that
the hype of realism and accuracy is hardly ever realized in the final
package.
On the PMDG 737NGX we simulate the whole system, not just the
switch, some lights and a few digital readouts. When you turn on
a hydraulic pump for example, there is an entire simulation of electrical
connectivity, electrical demand, changes in fluid flow volume, changes in
fluid temperature and changes in fluid pressure that takes place “behind
the panel.”
“Simulation” means that when you engage the autopilot and put the
airplane into LNAV/VNAV, it should behave like it would if you were
actually flying the airplane. This means that it behaves not just in easy to
manage climbs and descents, but it reacts appropriately when you punish
the airplane with rapid changes and demands near the limits of the
airplane’s capabilities.
Getting the “simulation” details correct inside a product goes a long way
toward giving a product the right “feel” of quality. The subtle character of
the 737 shines through in the PMDG 737NGX product, and it is this subtle
For Simulator Use Only DO NOT DUPLICATE 04AUG11
0.00.8
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
character that allows you to sit back and know that this is a high quality
add-on. What makes the NGX high quality? It is hard to define precisely,
but you’ll know it when you see it.
If you need help or require assistance, please use our customer forum
hosted at www.avsim.com in the forum section. The PMDG forum is the
best place to converse with like-minded PMDG customers and to learn
Thank you!
In short, leave the services alone… You can gain far greater
performance by running Win7 x64, and by following experienced
guidance for optimization, no matter what operating system you use!
Running FSX:
• Set FSX to “Run as Administrator.” This will give FSX the best
opportunity to use system resources effectively and without
limitations. To do this, right click on the FSX icon, and then
select properties. Click on the Advanced button, and then
check the box that reads: Run as administrator. From this
point onward, whenever you run FSX, the program will run under
the administrator permissions group. (You can also follow these
steps by right clicking directly on FSX.EXE…)
• Do not let your anti-virus software actively scan FSX: While we
are all concerned about the prevention of malware, it is extremely
important that you allow your FSX installation to “opt out” of being
For Simulator Use Only DO NOT DUPLICATE 04AUG11
0.00.12
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
actively scanned for viral activity while the software is running.
FSX loads thousands upon thousands of graphic files and
models into memory while you are flying, and active malware
scanning slows this process dramatically. In some cases active
scanning can reduce your simulator performance by up to 75%.
Unfortunately there are too many anti-virus suites out there for us
to make recommendations for your individual suite, but if you
search for “exclude” in your A/V software’s help system, you will
quickly find the instructions.
Simply EXCLUDE your FSX root directory and you should be all
set!
Do not forget to manually run a malware scan on your FSX
directory on occasion just to keep you safe!
FSX.CFG Settings:
The FSX.cfg file is a repository of settings used by FSX and many users
are intimidated by the wealth of settings contained in the file. There is no
reason to be concerned about editing this file. (Indeed, if you do make a
mistake and you do not have a backup copy of your previous FSX.cfg file,
simply delete the file and FSX will create a new one!)
You will notice that the FSX.CFG file is broken into sections by headers
such as: [SOUND] or [GRAPHICS].
In the [GRAPHICS] Section: Add the following lines (if they are not
already present)
• HIMEMFIX = 1
• TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD = 4096
In the [DISPLAY] section: Add the following lines (if they are not already
present) only if you have a wide-screen monitor:
• WideViewAspect=True
http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html
This site is owned by Jesus Altuve, and provides by far the most
authoritative and easy-to-use optimization for your FSX.CFG file. All of us
on the PMDG development team use this site in order to keep FSX
running in tip-top shape and Jesus has made the interface simple and
easy to use.
NOTE: In the PMDG 737NGX we have an option that allows you to place
chocks under the wheels in order to hold the airplane in place. We do this
by forcing the FSX parking brake on in the background, while allowing
you to set/release the airplane’s parking brake at will. You will notice the
red FSX “Parking Brake Set” message appear whenever you have wheel
chocks set, since we are using the brake in this fashion. If you wish to
eliminate this red message, simply look in your FSX.CFG for:
InfoParkingBrakesEnable=True
Aircraft Page:
• High Resolution 3-D Virtual Cockpit: Checking this box will give
you the highest quality VC possible within FSX. If you are
suffering from poor performance, you can uncheck this box and
see a reasonable increase in performance for a modest
exchange in visual quality. We generally recommend leaving this
box checked unless you run out of performance.
Scenery Page:
04AUG11 DO NOT DUPLICATE For Simulator Use Only
0.00.15
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
If you are experiencing poor performance, this page is one area where
you can gain quite a bit of bang for even small reductions in your FSX
scenery settings.
In our experience, customers who are suffering from poor performance
are generally expending huge quantities of processor and memory
capacity by having settings that are set too high for their hardware
capability.
We recommend the following setting for users with HIGH END
HARDWARE:
For users who are unable to obtain acceptable performance with these
settings, we recommend that you regain performance by adjusting to the
following settings:
• Reduce Water Effects to Low 1.x or None.
• Reduce AutoGen density.
• Turn off Ground Scenery Shadows
Weather Page:
The settings on this page will not provide many gains in performance, but
the turbulence setting in particular is extremely important to mind.
We recommend that all users click the “Disable Turbulence and thermal
effects” when flying the PMDG 737NGX. We make this recommendation
because the flight model used by this simulation is extremely realistic, and
the turbulence model in FSX is notoriously unrealistic. The combination
results in very poor turbulence behavior, so we recommend that users
disable the default FSX turbulence capability.
For Simulator Use Only DO NOT DUPLICATE 04AUG11
0.00.16
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
The remaining settings on this page can be set to suit your taste. We
recommend the following settings:
Traffic Page:
The settings you will want to use for managing aircraft and vehicle traffic
within the simulator will vary depending upon whether you use a third-
party program to produce aircraft traffic within the simulator or whether
you use the default FSX mechanism.
Please understand that AI traffic density can have a huge impact on
performance, especially at congested airports. We recommend that you
experiment with the settings a bit to find the correct balance of traffic
density vs. performance for your machine.
You may find that in order to maintain strong performance in high density
traffic areas you need to reduce the traffic density settings slightly.
For land and sea traffic, we generally recommend setting these sliders to
“around 15-20%” for realistic results. Higher settings will not necessarily
improve the visual quality of the simulation enough to compensate for the
impact on performance.
Realism Page:
Conflicting Software:
One classic example of this “taking control” relates to the fuel system on
the airplane. Without getting into complex details, the fuel
consumption/management process that is at the core of FSX is based on
the theory that all fuel tanks are stacked vertically with a stand pipe
running between them. This, combined with the fact that the engine fuel
consumption model used by FSX is far from accurate for a turbine gas
generator engine (modern turbofan!) means that we must engage in
some very complex adjustments to make certain that the fuel
management and consumption logic in during the course of your flight
results in accurate fuel behaviors.
For this reason, our simulations are generally not compatible with any
virtual airline software that monitors the level of fuel in the tanks and
deducts “points” for changes to the fuel value. We recommend disabling
any such features, or encouraging your virtual airline programmers to
contact us for guidance on how to work with this advanced feature within
the PMDG simulation product line.
Hardware SDK:
A challenge faced when creating highly complex add-on aircraft for FSX
is making certain that our simulation product will be compatible with the
broadest swath of flight simulator controls and hardware as possible not
just for today’s users, but for users three years from now.
FSUIPC users:
Like most things in the FS world however, the skills of developers like
Pete Dowson continue to play an extremely valuable role in the way many
add-ons interact with FSX.
Many users have found that FSUIPC continues to provide value for
improving the FSX experience by smoothing control axes, wind shifts in
weather, etc.
This easy method will keep you from having to reload FSX when
switching between liveries!
We have created a truly scalable experience for simmers who love the
737. If you want to just push up the throttles and fly, you can do this. If
you want to dive as deeply into the details as a career airline pilot, you
can do this also. The simulation will support you no matter what your goal
is for any particular simming session!
Following is a quick rundown on how to get the most out of your manuals:
This introduction will give you some tips on how to set up FSX for optimal
performance with the PMDG 737NGX and it will explain PMDG’s
proprietary custom icons and cursor symbology as it is used in the PMDG
737NGX.
The introduction document will also show you how to use the in-sim
capabilities to change your cockpit layout, cockpit displays, the visual
appearance of the external model, as well as the use of mechanical
reliability, failures, ground services and pushback capabilities.
This document ends with a list of “fun to know” quirks that experienced
737NG pilots will recognize within the simulation. We thought you’d like
to know just how detailed we have made your new PMDG 737NGX.
The first part of the tutorial should be viewed as a “Quick-Start Guide” that
will take you from loading the sim to launching off on your first flight in the
PMDG 737NGX. The purpose of the first flight is to keep things simple
and straight forward, thus giving you the opportunity to enjoy all that the
simulation has to offer without getting lost in details!
The first part of the tutorial will start you in a powered-up and ready-to-go
737-800 at London Gatwick. You will follow along step by step and
eventually find yourself parked across the channel in Amsterdam with
your passengers deplaning!
Phase two of the tutorial will pick up right from the end of the first part,
taking you through a detailed flight demonstrating many of the more
complex procedures such as starting the airplane yourself, creating a
complex flight plan, managing enroute functions with the Flight
Management System, landing and shutting down finally in Innsbruck.
The tutorial needn’t be completed in a single sitting. You can break it into
parts by saving your flight enroute, or you can stop in Amsterdam on one
day and start up again on a new day!
The FCTM can give you easy to follow instructions on just about any
maneuver you can perform in the 737, including:
When you are ready to dive a bit deeper into your PMDG 737NGX, you
04AUG11 DO NOT DUPLICATE For Simulator Use Only
0.00.25
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
will find detailed how-to information on such topics as “landing without
flaps” and “Approach and Landing on Standby Power.”
We recommend that you spend some time skimming through the FCTM
just to see what types of information are presented to you. There are lots
of diagrams and visual aids to help you visualize the maneuver being
discussed, and these will ultimately help you to improve your own skills
flying the PMDG 737NGX!
Just remember: When you find yourself wondering “how do I make the
airplane do….” The FCTM is going to have your answer!
• Technical Notes about the 737: These are not important to you,
but they do provide a fascinating insight into the evolution of the
737NG airplane since it was certified.
• Limitations: This chapter is a one-stop shop for all of the limits
that you should never exceed while flying the airplane.
• Normal Procedures: This section of the manual should be
thought of as your “step by step detail guide to operating the
airplane.” You can start with an airplane in just about any
condition and the Normal Procedures will give you a step-by-step
process to reaching the next phase of flight. We highly
recommend loading up a “Cold and Dark” scenario and working
through this chapter. This will give you a really in depth view of
the detail level contained in the PMDG 737NGX.
• Supplementary Procedures: This chapter is similar to the Normal
Procedures, except that it contains procedures that you won’t
perform on every flight. For example, start an engine using a
ground-start-cart? The supplementary procedure for performing
this task is your go-to location to find out how it should be done
properly!
• Performance: This chapter contains all of the published
performance data that is available for the 737NG type airplane. If
you like to go through the mental exercise of planning your own
flights down to the last detail, this chapter will give you everything
you need! (Note: The performance data for reduced thrust
engine types is not published, and therefor is not available. All of
the data currently available is included in this chapter.)
For Simulator Use Only DO NOT DUPLICATE 04AUG11
0.00.26
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
Flight Crew Operations Manual Vol. 2: The second volume of the
FCOM is your in-depth guide to the inner workings of the PMDG
737NGX.
The Volume 2 portion of the FCOM will give you the insight that you need
to truly appreciate the detail level of the PMDG 737NGX. If you would like
to learn what is happening in the hydraulic system, then simply dive into
the HYDRAULICS chapter. Do you want to know more detail on the
Automatic Flight Systems? There is a chapter for this…
The FCOM Volume 2 is the place to go for information on what makes the
airplane operate. Broken into chapters, you can digest the pieces in the
order and in the quantity you want.
Pay attention to the small details described in this manual, however and
you will be surprised again and again just how deep the level of
simulation runs in the PMDG 737NGX!
In some cases, the guidance will be to simply continue your flight to the
destination. In other cases you may be instructed to take more drastic
action such as shutting down an engine.
In either case, the QRH will walk you through the entire process, including
revised checklists to use in the event of abnormal landing conditions.
Play with the failures menus and practice using your QRH! We think you
will find it is not nearly as intimidating as some fear, and the challenge of
following the procedures can be extremely rewarding!
This is a document that many simmers never open, and in doing so fail to
take advantage of a really fascinating part of the simulation!
The Quick Reference Handbook is, for lack of a better description, the
approved method for pilots to conduct trouble-shooting while flying the
737 airplane.
Inside this book are the approved procedures that you may perform in
response to virtually any situation you might face. From an engine fire all
the way down to a simple annunciator light in the cockpit, the Quick
Reference Handbook will take you step-by-step through the process of
troubleshooting, resetting and sometimes even fixing any problem that
you might experience!
Pull out the Quick Reference Handbook, look up the DOOR warning in
the index, then follow the checklist procedure!
There are many mechanical failure scenarios in the PMDG 737NGX that
behave this way, and learning to use the Quick Reference Handbook will
help you find easy solutions to complex problems while also teaching you
more about the PMDG 737NGX systems than you ever thought you might
learn!
We recommend you spend some time playing with the failures and
exercise the Quick Reference Handbook. You can’t hurt anything, and
you can always hit the reset button if you get in over your head!
The 737NG airplane has a few differences from the rest of the Boeing
fleet that may trip you up if you do not expect them, and there are a few
quirks to operating certain aspects of the airplane’s logic. Here is a small
collection of items that we saw trip our testing crews, so we thought it
might be a good idea to list them for you:
I cannot get TO/GA to activate: Make sure you have BOTH flight
directors active. TO/GA will ignore you unless both are active.
The bank limiter isn’t working as I expected in LNAV: LNAV uses its own
auto-bank limit when turning to follow the LNAV course. It will use a
minimum of 8.0 and a maximum of 23.0 degrees unless in approach
mode or in holding.
With electric trim, I cannot move the trim all the way to the limit: This is
correct behavior. The stop position will vary slightly depending upon
which of the airplane body types you are flying, but generally speaking
you will lose the ability to trim nose down beyond about 4.0 ANU. It is
04AUG11 DO NOT DUPLICATE For Simulator Use Only
0.00.29
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
worth noting that the trim limits are different when the flaps are UP as
opposed to deployed as well. For simplicity, your limits are:
FLAPS UP
600 : 4.13 - 14.5
700 : 4.30 - 14.5
800 : 3.95 - 14.5 [some models 4.00, some models 4.05]
900 : 3.90 - 14.5
How can I test the Oxygen Mask when it requires that I hold two buttons
at one time?: In some cases we have had to improvise a bit in order to
give you the ability to test/operate items that normally require two button
presses or two hands. In the case of testing your O2 mask, you can use
the red TEST button by pressing and holding the button for 2 seconds.
This will simulate the process of holding both test buttons at the same
time.
How can I operate the manual gear unlock? In some cases we have had
to improvise a bit in order to give you the ability to test/operate items that
normally require two button presses or two hands. In the case of the
manual gear unlock, press the click spot on the lock for 2 seconds and it
will simulate the operation that normally requires two hands.
I see CUTBACK when setting up the FMS. What does this do?: Cutback
is an automatically managed noise abatement process for the NG
airplane. CUTBACK will reduce thrust at CUTBACK altitude and up to
the RESTORE to a calculated N1. The calculated N1 is such that at
entered V2+20, at restore altitude, present environmental conditions and
current weight the aircraft in engine out configuration can maintain a
specific (small) climb gradient. Accordingly weight and V2 must at
minimum be entered otherwise the (rather lengthy) iterative calculation for
CUTBACK N1 cannot proceed. Turns out that this N1 value is rather
small and thus you have a reduced sound footprint. If your V2 is deleted
the FMC will cancel CUTBACK (with a warning). If calculated N1 for
cutback is excessive then you will also see a warning.
These manuals have the same look and feel as the manuals provided to
crews in training and will provide you with the best set of reference
materials available to simmers anywhere.
This section will help you to learn how to push/pull levers, rotate knobs
and push buttons within the cockpit. The guidance is identical whether
you use the 3D Virtual Cockpit, or whether you use the flat 2D panel
cockpit.
The PMDG 737NGX utilizes a specific cursor shapes that are visible in
both the 2D and Virtual Cockpit in order to assist the user to:
• Easily locate the regions where mouse operations are
applicable.
• Instantly identify what kinds of mouse operations are applicable
for each click spot.
• Identify what each mouse operation can be expected to do.
Push-Pull Operations:
Push-Pull operations apply to pushbuttons and knobs that can be either
pushed or pulled in order to effectuate an action. One of three cursor
shapes will appear when the mouse is placed over a pushbutton or
switch that fits into this category:
Push cursor:
Only push operation is applicable. Use left or right mouse
button.
Pull-Only cursor:
Only pull operation is applicable. Use right mouse button.
The push/pull icon will change to reflect the operation selected by the
user. So if, for example, the left mouse button is pressed the cursor will
change to the “push” cursor, and if the right mouse button is pressed the
cursor will change to the “pull” cursor.
Press either the left mouse button or turn the mouse wheel
down or to turn the knob to the left. While doing so the cursor
will also rotate to the left as seen here.
Press either the right mouse button or turn the mouse wheel
up or to turn the knob to the right. While doing so the cursor
will also rotate to the right as seen here.
For switches that move up/down the following applies:
This cursor indicates that the switch may be moved up/down.
This is the “neutral” cursor, meaning that you are not currently
rotating the switch.
Press either the left mouse button or turn the mouse wheel
down or to move the switch down. While doing so the cursor
will also rotate to the left as seen here.
Press either the right mouse button or turn the mouse wheel
up or to move the switch up. While doing so the cursor will
also rotate to the right as seen here.
For knobs that do not have distinct position detents, such as a dimmer
or a temperature knob, holding down the left or right mouse button will
cause the knob to scroll through its available range of motion in the
same direction as the mouse click. Additionally, you can use the mouse
wheel on your mouse to scroll rapidly.
Some hits to remember when using knobs:
• Using the mouse wheel will let you rapidly set heading/speed
changes into the MCP!
You will notice that in certain places that require special action, such as
the landing gear handle unlock switch, or on the guards covering
guarded switches, the cursor will appear gray. This is to indicate to you
that the action is special as it relates to that switch, guard or knob.
1.
3.
2.
1. This shaded cursor indicates that you are able to rotate the
secondary knob.
2. This un-shaded icon indicates that you can rotate the primary knob.
Note that this knob changes the barometric setting, and since it does
not have specific detents you can either left/right click for precision, or
use the mouse wheel to make large changes rapidly.
3. This cursor indicates that you can press the button embedded inside
the two rotary knobs.
If you spent a few moments feeling around the PMDG 737NGX cockpit
with your mouse, you will find many different areas where you can click,
rotate, move up/down or left/right various controls. After a few moments
interacting with the simulation, these cursors and their associated
actions will become second nature!
NOTE: Depending upon your monitor size and resolution, you may
have some trouble accurately placing the mouse cursor over a
switch while in the VC. If you experience this problem, we
recommend that you zoom closely to the switch. This will greatly
increase the accuracy of your mouse and is similar to “leaning”
toward something on the flight deck in order to make it more
accessible.
USING 2D PANELS
These methods are not used in the virtual cockpit because the use has
the ability to move freely around inside the cockpit in order to access
switches and panels.
When this cursor is displayed, you can use either the left or right
mouse button to open or toggle a panel window. These types of mouse
click spots are normally located on the main panel.
When this cursor is displayed, you can use either the left or the right
mouse button to open or toggle one of two different panel windows. A
left mouse click is related to one panel window, the right mouse click is
related to another different panel window. These mouse click spots are
usually located on the main panel.
This cursor indicates that you can use either the left or right mouse
button to close the current panel window. The mouse click spot is
usually located on the top-left corner of the panel window.
These cursors are displayed when the mouse is moved over the central
area of one of the display units in the 2D panel or the VC and also over
the screens of the CDUs in the VC. A left or right mouse click when
the “+” cursor is displayed will open the display unit or the CDU on a
new window of larger dimensions. This window will initially be displayed
in a preset position but it can be dragged to any location.
When the zoomed window is open a “-“cursor will display on both the
zoomed window click-spot and the corresponding normal display click-
spot. Use the left or right mouse click on either click-spot to close the
zoomed window.
6. Left Click: Slides the MCP left to display features on the
FO side of the panel. (Also uses Right Click)
If you forget what a click-spot will do, simply hover your mouse over the
spot and a tool-tip will appear to remind you. (Provided you have tool-
tips enabled!)
At night the click locations are illuminated using the MAIN PANEL
brightness knob in order to make them easy to find.
When talking with customers, one topic comes up again and again for
simmers that enjoy the immersive nature of PMDG products: “I don’t like
having to use menus once I am in the simulator!”
With the PMDG 737NGX product line we have finally resolved this
customer concern by allowing you to change just about anything in the
airplane without ever having to leave the simulation. From your fuel load
to the passenger load, cockpit configuration, external model options,
failures, maintenance and cockpit equipment: everything can be
configured live, in FSX, without having to pull down a menu and
without having to leave the immersion of the simulation!
You can also turn the FMS based menus off this way when desired.
On the left side of the screen, you can select the <FMC prompt to enter
the aircraft flight management functions. On the right side you will find
the SETUP> and FS ACTIONS> prompts. These options are the core of
your ability to customize your PMDG 737NGX flight experience.
If at any time you get lost in the CDU, simply press the MENU button and
you will be brought immediately back to this page!
The PMDG SETUP page is the “home base” from which you will
configure your PMDG 737 to suit your needs. From this menu you can
adjust the specific options for your airplane cockpit as well as many
options to control various aspects of the simulation experience itself.
There are a few things to keep in mind while learning how to tune the
PMDG 737NGX to suit your tastes:
When it comes to saving your flight, there are a few things that you should
clearly understand in order to avoid confusion.
Saving a Flight: Saving a flight is done via the FSX File/Save Flight menu
and will save the airplane position, status and configuration into a file that
can be loaded at a later time via the FSX File/Load Flight menu.
Saving a Panel State: Saving a panel state is a bit different. Panel states
allow you to save the airplane’s current configuration without any regard
to the phase of flight or location of the airplane. This being the case,
panel states are entirely mobile and thus give you great flexibility.
For example, let’s say that you want to create a condition in which the
airplane is on the ground with the APU running, the IRS’s aligned and
everything ready to start the engines. You do this by setting the airplane
up as you desire, then going to the PMDG SETUP menu in the FMS and
pressing STATE SAVE>.
You will be prompted for a name for the panel state, and the FMS will
then create the necessary files in your <FSX ROOT>/PMDG/PMDG
737NGX/PANELSTATE folder.
Once this state is saved, you can have the airplane in any location in the
FSX world and use the LOAD STATE> prompt to instantly put the
airplane into the desired configuration.
These panel states can be loaded at any time and the airplane will be
instantly configured according to the panel state selected. This can be
convenient for quickly setting up a flight to start precisely where you want!
This can be useful for saving flights enroute without losing any of the
activities that have taken place earlier in the flight sequence.
It is worth bearing in mind that some users may not want the failures
conditions to transfer to a newly loaded flight. If this is a concern, then
please be certain that you clean all failures and disable failures from the
FAILURES menu prior to saving the flight.
Save/Load from the FSX menu: You can also conduct save/load
operations from the FSX menu. The PMDG 737NGX will intercept the
save/load function and create both the FSX save file and the PMDG
737NGX panel save file for you using the name you select.
You will then be able to load your flight and panel state from the FSX
menu as well and the airplane condition will be just as you left it.
On the PMDG SETUP menu you will notice a STARTUP STATE prompt.
You can use this prompt to force FSX to load the PMDG 737NGX in
exactly the same configuration every time you launch the simulator.
Before we describe the various changes that you can make, let’s first
examine the methodology behind how aircraft options are saved.
When using the PMDG 7373NGX you should think of aircraft options in
terms of airframes. Through this menu system we allow you to define the
equipment contained on the flight deck of a limitless number of aircraft,
defined by airframe tail numbers.
How this helps you: The PMDG 737NGX tracks everything in terms of
individual airframes. As you fly N804SY, for example that airplane will
accumulate flight time. Any changes you make to the equipment carried
on that aircraft can be saved and the simulator will load those options the
next time you choose to fly N804SY.
If you wish to use a different aircraft configuration, simply select it via the
AIRCRAFT menu and the changes will be instantaneous.
How this works behind the scenes: (For Sim techs and nerds!):
NOTE: You don’t need to read this section to use the AIRCRAFT menu,
but we are including it for those who want to know details about how the
AIRCRAFT menu system works!
Each livery comes with a pre-defined definition ini file that defines all of
the options related to that particular airplane. The file is fully editable.
The definition file is named to match the tail number on the livery and gets
copied to the <fsx root>/PMDG/PMDG 737 NGX/Aircraft folder by the
livery installer. A backup original copy is left in the texture folder so that
you can use the AIRCRAFT menu to revert to the original configuration
file if you make changes that you no longer wish to keep.
When you select a livery, and then launch the simulator, the PMDG
737NGX will determine what equipment in installed on the airplane by
reading the definition file for that livery’s tail number. When the sim
launches your cockpit will be set up according to that definition.
If you make changes to the cockpit layout and save the definition file
using the AIRCRAFT menu, those changes will be present in the airplane
any time you load that livery.
If desired, you can save multiple definitions for the same airplane in order
to simulate changes in the equipment carried over time. For example you
could set one set of options for the N738PM setting, then make changes
and save the configuration as N738PM2. Then, if you desire to use the
second configuration, simply select it from the menus as will be described
below.
NOTE: The livery number displayed in the AIRCRAFT menu will always
match the tail number installed with the livery. This is because the
maintenance and flight time tracking must be tracked for that individual
tail number!
Livery Tail Number
N738PM.INI Definition File
Aircraft Menu
Cockpit Setup
The AIRCRAFT menu is designed to give you the ability to change the
equipment installed in the cockpit, change the way information is
displayed to you on the cockpit displays, and to interact with the
mechanical reliability of the airplane.
We will explore the content of these menus in a moment, but for now just
remember that any time you make a change, the PMDG 737NGX will
automatically save the change you made to the aircraft’s definition file.
This has the effect of making the change permanent until you make future
changes.
This will copy the original definition file from the livery’s texture directory to
the active FMS directory, replacing the one you have already altered.
(This cannot be un-done!)
Selecting the ANOTHER> prompt will take you to the following menu:
This menu will list all of the available aircraft definition files currently
loaded or that you have created.
This will cause the configuration definition for N738AA to be used with
whatever livery you currently have loaded.
NOTE: If you switch liveries, you will need to re-select the N738AA
definition if that is your wish. Every time you load a livery from the free
flight FSX menu, the PMDG 737NGX will load that livery’s definition file!
Once you have selected an airline definition file as your FIXED CONFIG it
will remain until you delete. (Press the DEL key, then the FIXED
CONFIG prompt to delete.)
EQUIPMENT Options:
These options are available for you to select from in the EQUIPMENT
pages so that you can experiment with the mix of data equipment options
that are interesting to you as a pilot.
There are numerous pages of options available that will allow you to
customize the displays in the cockpit of your 737. You can use the PREV
PAGE and NEXT PAGE buttons on the CDU to move forward and back
through the pages.
In the list that follows, we have provided images to show you the
difference between equipment types when applicable. We also document
some of the known conflicts between equipment types (if any) so that you
are aware that turning some features ON may disable other features.
If you get into a simulated flight and decide you’d like to try some
changes, you can do so live, in the simulator, without having to worry
about disrupting your current flight.
• SET FSX LOC CRS: When it comes to navigation data, FSX has
an inherent weakness in that data related to ILS/LOC stations is
hard coded into the simulator and is not updated to keep it current
with the normal magnetic shift. The end result is that the localizer
• A/T Manual Override: This option allows you to decide how you
want the autothrottle react to changes in your joystick throttle
position. In the airplane, moving the throttles will momentarily
change the thrust of the engines, but they will return to the
previous position when released, unless the autothrottle is in
HOLD or ARM mode. You can realistically simulate this by select
the <IN HOLD/ARM MODE ONLY option.
If you wish to simplify the process a bit while learning to fly the
airplane, you can select <NEVER (in which case any movement
of your joystick throttle will be ignored by the auto-throttle) or you
04AUG11 DO NOT DUPLICATE For Simulator Use Only
0.00.57
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
can select <ALWAYS (in which case the auto-throttle will always
allow you to override the desired thrust by simply moving your
joystick throttle.
• HGS Auto AIII Mode: This option determines whether your HGS
includes the Autoland AIII mode for use during instrument
approaches. The AIII mode improves pilot situational awareness
during low approaches by providing additional information such as
the runway outline displayed on the HGS in front of the pilot’s
eyes during the final phase of an instrument approach.
• Secondary Jumpseat: You can choose whether you will have two
cockpit jumpseats, or only one.
• Minimums Call: You have four choices for how you would like the
airplane to handle reaching your minimum approach altitude. The
airplane can issue no warning, or it can call out “Minimums” or
“Minimums Minimums” or “Decision Height.” You select which
warning you’d like to hear by pressing the line select key to
change the selection.
These options are available on the DISPLAYS pages so that you can
experiment with the mix of data options that are interesting to you as a
pilot.
There are numerous pages of options available that will allow you to
customize the displays in the cockpit of your 737. You can use the PREV
PAGE and NEXT PAGE buttons on the CDU to move forward and back
through the pages.
PFD/ND:
EFIS/MAP:
• Flight Director Type: Split Axis or Single Cue. Select the style of
flight director that will be displayed. The dual cue provides
independent pitch and roll steering cues, while the single cue
flight director provides a single flying wing.
• PFD 100 Knots Bug Display the associated bug on the PFD
speed tape.
• Rising Runway: Turn the rising runway symbol on/off for display
on instrument approaches.
• Pitch Limit Indication Pop Up: Allow the display of the stall pitch
limit on the PFD when stall awareness is a factor.
• PFD Round Ball Altitude Dial: Display the radar altitude readout
at the top right corner of the PFD. (Replaces the angle of attack
indication if that was previously selected.)
• PFD Landing Alt Bar: Displays the landing altitude bar on the
PFD altitude display.
• TCAS 3NM Range Ring: Display 3nm range ring with TCAS.
• ENG Side by Side Disp: Changes the layout of the engine display
between the normal and side-by-side formats.
• EGT Color CHG Inhibit: Set the elapsed time allowed to trigger
an EGT over-temp display.
• Low Oil Qty Inverse: Invert the color of the oil quantity display
when low oil quantity is detected.
• Fuel Low Alert Below: Choose the fuel level that triggers the low
quantity alert. (1,000lbs or 2,000lbs)
• Fuel Total Display: Show the round dial fuel display, or the digital
fuel totalizer.
OPTIONS MENUS
The configuration options located under the OPTION menu provide you
with the opportunity to modify your simulation experience to suit your
tastes. These include performance tweaks, assigning key-driven
commands to cockpit functions, adjusting the way the sound environment
is simulated and many more. The OPTIONS menu is broken into sub-
menus to categorize options for ease of organization.
• IRS Options: The IRS Options sub menu provides you with
some options to customize the way the Inertial Reference
System operates within the simulator. You can choose the
length of time it should take for the IRS to align and whether or
not the IRS will retain the last known memory position of the
airplane at the time it was powered down.
• Show Pilots in External View: You can remove the pilots from
the cockpit (such as when parked at the terminal!) by using this
toggle setting.
PERFORMANCE Options:
With the performance tuning menu, you can adjust the update rates of the
cockpit displays in order to optimize their influence on your simulation
experience. You can also turn off the first officer’s displays in the VC.
For those who are not interested in having all of the displays powered at
all times, you can gain back some performance by disabling the first
officer’s displays in the VC. You do this via the toggle in the
PERFORMANCE TUNING menu.
You can assign key commands to functions within the cockpit by locating
the desired switch from the list of functions presented in the KEY
COMMANDS menu. (The available assignments are broken into
categories under the KEY COMMANDS menu.)
When you select a component, you will be presented with instructions that
will allow you to assign a custom key command to the desired function.
The currently assigned key command will be displayed in green in the key
command menu.
SOUND Options:
During production of the PMDG 737NGX we have recorded hundreds of
sounds in order to provide the greatest degree of sound immersion
possible. As part of the process, we have spent a significant amount of
time balancing the sound levels, mixing them based upon volume and
location in the cockpit.
Next, in the SOUND menu, you will find the following settings available to
you:
The MASTER VOLUME should be set to 50, as this provides the best
balance for the vast majority of user systems. We have balanced the
cockpit sounds for the NGX based on having this setting at 50.
It is worth noting that the default setup we have provided to you should
provide the best overall realism to replicate the sound environment of the
737NG type airplane.
You use the PLAY IN EXT VIEW toggle to determine if cockpit sounds will
be played while you are in an external view. The default is “NO.”
If you have multiple sound devices attached to your computer, you can
choose between them using the DEVICE selector in this menu.
For users who do not wish to interact with the potential for
mechanical failure in their simming experience, you can simply
skip over this section. The mechanical reliability of your PMDG
737NGX is set to “perfect” by default.
Entering the failures menu from the SETUP menu will display the following
menu:
From the FAILURES top menu, you can select from individual systems
(use the PREV PAGE and NEXT PAGE to scroll up and down) or you can
go into the ALL SYSTEMS to set random or service based failures, or you
can select an individual system from within which you can set specific
failures.
This menu allows you access to establish the RANDOM and SERVICE
BASED FAILURES modes. This page will also allow you to enter the
maintenance performance section.
The random failures menu allows you to set up a process for random
failures to be triggered at a specific rate, with a limit to the total number of
events that may be triggered.
To turn the random failures mode on, simply set the RANDOM FAILURES
selector to YES. This will turn the random failure settings to white to
indicate that they are now active for manipulation.
Use of the random failure feature is pretty straight forward. First, choose
the approximate number of failure events you would like to see triggered
during an average 10 hour period of simulation. The rate at which failures
will occur will roughly approximate the theoretical [EVENTS PER HOUR /
10 HOURS].
Note that the actual rate may vary slightly so it is possible that you might
see failures triggered in rapid succession, and you may see more than the
If you wish to limit the number of events that are triggered you can set this
number by turning LIMITED EVENTS to YES and the setting the hard-limit
in the EVENT LIMIT line.
You can use this limit if you want to trigger a rapid series of events, but
also want to limit the total number failures.
Service Based failures will provide you with a highly realistic simulation of
failures on and operational airplane. As you fly the simulator, the total
flight time and system operation of the airplane is tracked. The
combination of factors will be compared against known data predicting the
Mean Time Before Failure for every component on the airplane.
As failures take place, you will need to use the Quick Reference Handbook
to resolve the failures and your judgment as captain to determine whether
it is feasible to continue on to your destination, or whether a diversion for
maintenance is required.
When operating under the serviced based failures process, you may fly for
many hours without seeing any mechanical unreliability in your airplane.
Conversely you experience a streak of mechanical failures from the
mundane to the critical.
When operating with the Service Based Failures module active, it will be
necessary to occasionally have your airplane “serviced” by your line
maintenance crews.
CLR ACTIVE: When failures are triggered, you can use the CLR ACTIVE
button to reset any failures that have already been triggered.
CLR ALL: This will clear failures that have already triggered as well as
failures that are armed to be triggered at a later time.
NEXT SERVICE IN: This indicates to you the approximate amount of time
until the next service period for the airplane is due.
APU: (2)
• Autothrottle
• Flight Control Channel A
• Flight Control Channel B
• Autoflight System
Doors: (7)
Electrical: (29)
Engines: (24)
Fire: (7)
Fuel: (12)
Hydraulics: (15)
Miscellaneous: (10)
• Transponder 1
• Transponder 2
• TCAS System
• Terrain Detection System Fail
• Integrated Standby Flight Display
• Left Clock Fail
• Right Clock Fail
• Brake Overheat Cooling
• Brakes Failed
• Nose Tire Balance
*Note: Brake Overheat Cooling allows the user to reset normal
brake temperatures after a brake overheat event. It is not
possible to overheat the brakes without appropriate pilot braking
action.
*Note 2: Nose tire imbalance can be caused by excessive wear
on the nose gear tires, or by touching down nose wheel first. If
you hear a very loud (and annoying!) rattle as the nose lifts off
during takeoff, you likely need to service the nose tires!)
Pneumatic: (12)
NOTE: For any failure, we strongly recommend that you use the Quick
Reference Handbook to practice diagnosing the problem. The QRH
makes it extremely easy. Simply look up the warning light or symptoms
that you see in the QRH index and then follow the checklist provided!
From the FS ACTIONS menu you can adjust the FUEL, PAYLOAD,
GROUND CONNECTIONS, DOORS, CABIN LIGHTING and
PUSHBACK functionality.
From the FUEL menu you are able to manually set the fuel quantity in
each tank. Conversely you can use the preset level functions on the
lower right side of the display to set the tanks to FULL, 2/3 or 1/3 levels or
you can set the total fuel quantity as a percentage.
To change the fuel level in an individual tank, simply up-select the desired
quantity to the desired tank. The fuel quantity will not be loaded
according to proper loading practices when you manually set the fuel
quantity to each individual tank.
On this menu the current gross weight, CG location, Zero Fuel Weight
and Max Takeoff Weight is displayed for your convenience.
The PAYLOAD menu allows you to change the aircraft loading as desired
right from within the simulator.
You can update the passenger load on your flight by manually up-
selecting the number of passengers seated in the First and Coach class
cabins (or only the coach class cabin if using a single class configuration.)
You can also manually up-select the cargo weights to the forward and aft
cargo holds.
Conversely you can up-select the percentage load factor you would like to
carry to the LOAD LEVEL line on the right side of the display.
You may also use the SET FULL, SET EMPTY or SET RANDOM settings
to establish your load factor.
On this menu the current gross weight, CG location, Zero Fuel Weight
and Max Takeoff Weight is displayed for your convenience.
NOTE: It is important to note that all ground services require that the
airplane be chocked in place before they will be made available to you by
the ground crews. For this reason, you must select CHOCKS SET before
you will be able to use any other ground services.
If you have other ground services selected and you remove the chocks,
the ground crew will also remove the ground services.
Use of Color: Note that on this menu, any item that is colored in red
indicates that the aircraft is not safe to move. If all items are colored in
green, then it is safe to move the airplane.
The DOORS menu allows you to open and close all of the doors on the
aircraft from a single access menu.
You can open and close the doors from this menu. You can also extend
the air stair from this menu. Additionally you can open the overwing exits
as needed.
NOTE: For air-stair equipped aircraft, you must close door 1L before you
can retract the stairs into the airplane.
The PUSHBACK menu allows you to manage the pushback process from
within the simulator.
Additionally you can determine whether you will hear voice comms only
during pushback, a combination of voice and text, or text only via the FSX
adventure text process.
The CABIN LIGHTS menu allows you to control the lighting that will
appear in the cabin when viewing the external model.
If set to AUTO, the airplane’s internal logic will determine the brightness
that should be used given the current phase of flight and lighting
conditions.
When set to MANUAL, you can choose the desired brightness level
desired.
NOTE: You may occasionally see some texture artifacts in the cabin
during dusk/dawn and certain cabin lighting settings. This results from
certain driver sets and certain hardware configurations, but we thought
you would like to see this capability in the simulation.
You will notice that this view configuration gives you a clear view of the
captain’s displays, as well as the main engine instruments.
Using the Landing Lights Gang-Bar: The Boeing 737 has four landing
light switches to activate the fixed and retractable landing lights. To
simplify the activation of these lights, Boeing saw fit to install a “Gang-Bar”
that allows you to throw all four lights on with a single effort.
You can use the Gang-Bar to extend the lending lights in the PMDG
737NGX by left clicking anywhere on the Gang-Bar.
Retractable Yoke: The yoke size, scale and position relative to the pilot
view is accurate in the PMDG 737NGX. This is why you can clearly read
the displays over the top of the yoke while flying. (A factor commonly
missed in FS add-on airplanes.)
One of the limitations that the FSX world places on you as a pilot is the
inability to easily lean back and forth, or to move your body around to more
04AUG11 DO NOT DUPLICATE For Simulator Use Only
0.00.107
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
easily facilitate reaching or seeing switches, knobs or displays.
For the most part using your mouse to move your head and zoom in/out is
perfectly acceptable, but occasionally geometry within the cockpit can
impede your ability to enter data into the FMS, for example.
You can retract the yoke by simply clicking on the top of the yoke column.
Unfortunately, we don’t all have fully operable replicas of the 737 throttle
column to use with our FSX setups, so we have added a few features to
help you manage the TO/GA process as if it were right under your
fingertips.
First, you can click on the actual TO/GA button if you like, but this is
arguably not very convenient, especially when initiating a go-around at low
altitude.
Next, you can assign a key combination using the key commands menu.
This will give you a simple key command of your choice to use in place of
a TO/GA button.
For those of you who are button-assignment savvy, you can also map this
key combination to a button on your flight simulation hardware and this will
give you the best replica of a real TO/GA button.
Conversely, you can also use the Direct-Type Text to CDU methodology
that we have included for simplicity.
To activate the Direct-Type capability, simply hold down the TAB key, then
type on your keyboard as you normally would.
When holding down the TAB key, you will see a green rectangle illuminate
around the CDU scratch pad, indicating that direct entry of text is now
possible.
If you wish to manipulate the line select keys in this method, simply hold
down the TAB key, the press any of the Function keys (F1-F12) to
simulate the 1L -6R line select keys.
We have found during our own testing of the aircraft that the Virtual
Cockpit is generally easier to use if you can turn your head to look around
the cockpit using the hat-switch on a joystick as your view controlling
device. To reset the view position, simply press “CTRL+SPACE.”
Autopilot Functions
Engine Performance Model
All Mechanical Subsystems
Do not use non PMDG visual Models: The PMDG 737NGX has more
than 1000 animated parts. With the exception of a few basic functions,
all part animations are controlled by PMDG’s internal simulation operation
and are not controlled by Microsoft Flight Simulator. If you attempt to
replace the PMDG 737NGX visual model with a non PMDG model, you
will lose nearly all animation and function for the external model.
Hardware Toe Brakes Users: If you use hardware toe brakes such as
those created by CH Products, we would like you to be aware that in
order to implement the proper “tripping off” of the auto-brake system, we
had to put some limitations in place in order to prevent the inherent FSX
logic from inadvertently taking over the autobrake release logic
inappropriately:
To release the autobrake with your hardware toe brakes you must:
• Apply the brakes twice, quickly and….
• Apply greater pressure than the autobrake is currently applying.
These behaviors are the kinds of items that an experienced 737NG pilot
or maintenance technician will see and recognize them as hallmarks of a
truly detailed simulation product.
The following behaviors are a non-conclusive list of behaviors that you will
find in the PMDG 737NGX that are simulated precisely as they appear in
the actual airplane:
Anti-Ice Systems:
• During ground turns in areas with high temperatures, you may
notice the window heaters cycling off/on to maintain window heat
target temperature. You may also notice that the windows
require no heat at all to maintain the target surface temperature.
This requires you to use the WINDOW HEAT TEST switch as a
confidence test that the heaters are actually working.
• An engine anti-ice OVERPRESSURE warning lets you know that
the pressure inside the ring cowl on the respective engine is too
high. Follow the QRH to resolve the problem, but also take a
look at the engine in the external view as the high pressure blow-
out duct will be visible, allowing excess pressure to vent
overboard.
Doors:
• Transient warning for the over-wing exits is possible due to an
occasional slow latching mechanism on the over-wing hatch
locks. The indication is transient and can be ignored provided
that it extinguishes almost immediately. You will see the
indication as a transient illumination of the Master Caution from
the captain’s perspective, but if flying from the first officer’s
perspective you will also see the DOORS caption illuminate.
• Most door warnings that you receive while on the ground will
result from faulty, cluttered or obstructed sensors. While on the
ground, cycling a door open/closed will usually cure the problem
for you. If the problem does not clear, takeoff is inadvisable.
• Door warnings received in the air have potentially serious
consequences. Follow the Quick Reference Handbook
procedure carefully to avoid aircraft damage or loss of
pressurization.
Engines:
• If you have failures enabled, monitor your engine oil
pressure/temperature, EGT and vibration readings regularly.
Unhandled failures result in a cascade of other failures. For
example, an engine oil leak will eventually trigger an electrical
generator failure, an oil pressure failure and inevitably (in a
probabilistic manner) result in increased vibration, fuel flow and
finally complete engine seizure.
• Failures such as an ENG OVHT are dynamic, and will be
triggered slightly differently each time, requiring that you follow
the QRH to resolve them effectively. The QRH will help you to
identify and deal with the failure you are seeing, provided that you
follow the steps described in the procedure.
Flight Controls:
• Spoiler DO NOT ARM light illuminates at <60 knots wheel speed.
This is normal for the NG.
• Electric Trim operates at realistic speeds. The electric trim is
shockingly SLOW compared to all FS planes except for the
PMDG MD11. Precise manual flight stability is thus greatly
facilitated. Trim rate (units per second) is even lower when flaps
are up. Electric/FCC trim rate is modeled accurately to the last
millisecond.
• Speed trim will operate automatically during manual flight and
particularly right after takeoff. You will find the FCC trimming the
plane automatically, sometimes against your manual input to the
control column. The speed trim input is higher at low IAS, high N1
and flaps down. If you press the electric trim button the system
will resume after 5 seconds.
• Rudder trim deflects your rudder (see your pedals in the VC) and
aileron trim deflects your control wheel. In general all control
inputs are intercepted before they reach the sim-engine and
filtered/interpreted as appropriate. When required, variable
control "weight" is added. For example, if you lose hydraulic
For Simulator Use Only DO NOT DUPLICATE 04AUG11
0.00.120
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
pressure flying will become extremely difficult
• You can see the effect of Mach trim when crossing the Mach
0.615 boundary in the external model (watch the elevator neutral
shift point change).
• Trailing edge flap deployment speed is affected by hydraulic
pump flow rates. The engine drive pumps move fluid at ~37gpm,
while the electric motor driven pump only produces ~5gpm. This
being the case, if you move the trailing edge flaps with only the
EMDP running, you will notice that they move significantly more
slowly than if the EDP is in operation. Keep this in mind when
planning your approach with the right engine inoperative. Moving
the trailing edge flaps is going to take more time than normal!
• Similar to above, when the trailing edge flaps are moved using
the ALTERNATE flap system, they are EXTREMELY slow. (2:39
to deploy full range.)
• Rudder control inputs are moderated by aerodynamic forces. Full
rudder deflection in even moderate IAS is thus impossible. This
Q-System model facilitates yaw stability and prevents inadvertent
yaw induced roll. Nevertheless, rudder authority is sufficient to
allow for runway alignment (de-crab) or even a sideslip (wing low)
approach even at high cross winds.
Fuel System:
• Engine Valves and Spar Valves have emergency power packs
attached to the valve actuator unit. These serve as emergency
backup power to close the fuel shutoff in an emergency if no
other source of power is available, and explains why you can still
actuate those valves even if their primary source of power is
offline.
• FMS Fuel quantity will read slightly more fuel than the FQIS. This
is an airplane idiosyncratic behavior.
• Center Wing Tank fuel quantity measuring system capacitance
error modeled in the Center Wing Tank. The quantity will vary
accurately during climbs/descents. This is an airplane
Idiosyncratic behavior.
Hydraulic System:
• Violating operating limitations on the Electric Motor Driven Pumps
(EMDPs) will cause the case drain fluid to overheat, resulting in
an OVERHEAT warning.
• We have used realistic times for pumps to come online and drop
offline.
• Engine Driven Pumps (EDP) turn if the engine is turning. The
"pump switch" on the overhead is not actually turning the pump
on or off. Instead, this switch controls a solenoid that cuts off
For Simulator Use Only DO NOT DUPLICATE 04AUG11
0.00.122
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
fluid flow to the A or B system respectively from the EDP. That
solenoid is held in the closed (off) position by DC power, so loss
of that associated DC bus will cause the solenoid to fail-open,
thus allowing the EDP to provide pressure to fluid on that side of
the airplane once again. This could be bad if you had that pump
disconnected for a reason!
• Overheat sensors in the EMDP's will trip pumps offline to protect
them from overheat. It is important to note that these are
different sensors (and different temperature ranges) than those
that control the OVERHEAT lights- so even when the overheat
LIGHTS go out, you still may not be able to activate the EMDP
because for a while longer while it is still cooling.
• EMDP cooling time will depend upon whether the pump is
running, or whether the pump is OFF. (Should take
approximately 5 minutes to cool to normal temps when running,
but approximately 30 minutes when off because the fluid
provides cooling to the pump. This of course will vary slightly,
depending upon fluid temperature and wheel well temperature
depending upon condition.)
• Hydraulic Quantity indication is affected by gear/flap/spoiler/flight
control position, as well as thermal shrinking. You will notice
changes in hydraulic quantity indicated during flight as you
change the configuration of the airplane, set the parking brake,
etc.
• In the event you lose engine #1 on takeoff, the A system EMDP
cannot provide enough pressure to raise the gear quickly enough
to satisfy second stage climb requirements. As such, the
Landing Gear Transfer Unit will provide pressure from the B
hydraulic system to get the gear up normally.
• Cycling the landing gear in the condition described above will
cause fluid transfer between the B and A system and could cause
a significant loss of fluid to the B system, with excess fluid being
dumped overboard from the A system. This will result in a net
loss of hydraulic fluid that must be replenished by maintenance!
You will see this fluid loss displayed on the hydraulic quantity
indication.
• Fluid can be passed from the B system to the A system through
the thrust reverser shuttle valve on the Left thrust reverser. If the
standby hydraulic system is used to actuate the #1 reverser, it
pulls fluid from the standby system to open the reverser but
returns that fluid to the A system when the reverser is later
stowed. Since the Standby system and the B system are
connected by a standpipe, you will most often see this fluid loss
appear as a drop in fluid quantity on the B system, but as an
04AUG11 DO NOT DUPLICATE For Simulator Use Only
0.00.123
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
increase on the A side. (The percentage lost/gained will vary
between the two systems since they are of different sizes!) This
fluid transfer behavior is only true up to a point, however… If the
B system drops below the standpipe, then you can run the
standby hydraulic reservoir dry through actuating the reverser.
This is probably not a good idea...
• The normal brake system operates of the B system hydraulics. If
that side is depressurized, then the alternate source for parking
brake fluid is the A system... If the parking brake is then
released, the fluid always returns to the B system, resulting in
fluid transfer between the two systems.
• When shutting down an engine, you generally leave the EDP
pump switches ON. In this configuration it is not uncommon to
see fluid get trapped in the hydraulic pressure line downstream of
the EDP, thus causing a delayed indication of low pump output
pressure on the overhead panel. This is normal and correctly
modeled behavior. It is caused by the location of the EDP output
pressure sensors in the hydraulic system.
• The standby Hydraulic pump can be activated in three ways, one
of which requires wheel speed input from the antiskid system.
Thus, if the antiskid is inop, you won't have the standby pump
system available until the airplane is airborne. (See the standby
hydraulic system description in the manual for more details on
this vital backup system...)
• The Electric Motor Driven Pumps are HUGE power consumers
(7.824 amps each) when working in normal operation. In the
event the same-side Engine driven hydraulic pump fails however,
the EMDP must carry a larger share of the hydraulic pressure
load and as a result the pump consumes 4.3 amps more, for a
total of 12.124 amps. This power consumption is reflected on the
electrical meter on the overhead panel, and can have
consequences for load shedding if operating on a single
engine/generator combination.
Landing Gear:
• Carbon and Steel brakes will absorb and dissipate energy
differently. Steel brakes are subject to high temperature brake
fade, while the carbon brakes are not.
• Brakes are subject to Brake Temperature Soak. The brake
temperature will climb for a period of time after heavy brake use.
• Wheel well fire warning can be triggered by sucking hot brakes
up into the gear bay. Follow the QRH if you get a wheel well fire
indication!
Pneumatic System:
• The bleed pressure produced by each engine is directly
computed based upon the engine RPM and whether the engine
is using the low pressure 5th stage bleed or the high pressure 9th
stage bleed as the source of bleed air. The resulting bleed
pressure production for each engine is highly accurate.
• High RPM without any bleed consumers (such as the air
conditioning packs) will cause a bleed overpressure condition
and BLEED TRIP OFF. Follow the QRH procedure to alleviate
this condition.
• Unattended bleed duct leaks have the potential to create leaks in
either the hydraulic EDP supply or pressure lines OR the case
fluid drain lines- resulting in fluid loss or outright pump seizure.
• Duct pressure indication shows the effects of variable stage
bleed source changing from low to high pressure stages in the
engine during spool-down. As the engine RPM falls, the bleed
system will switch from taking bleed air from the low pressure 5th
stage bleed valve to the high pressure 9th stage bleed valve.
You will see this effect appear as a "bounce" in pressure as the
valves switch... The reverse effect can be seen on spool up, but
it is far less obvious.
• The amount of bleed pressure you receive from an air start cart
will vary based on outside temperature, and airport altitude.
• Bleed pressure is heavily affected by consumption. If you have
insufficient pressure to start an engine, consider shutting down
the air conditioning packs.
Sounds:
• This package uses 521 digitally recorded sounds to replicate the
living, breathing work environment of a 737 pilot.
• While in external views, you will hear sounds made by ground
equipment, wing fuel pumps, electric hydraulic pumps, air
conditioning packs and the APU. All of these sounds layer
together to provide a very realistic exterior sound environment.
• We have recorded sounds for nearly every switch on the flight
deck, and then linked these sounds in such a way as to ensure
that they are synchronized to switch movements whether fast or
04AUG11 DO NOT DUPLICATE For Simulator Use Only
0.00.125
PMDG 737NGX
INTRODUCTION
slow.
• Some mechanical systems on the airplane can be faintly heard
from the flight deck (wing fuel pumps and electric hydraulic
pumps, for example) and you will hear them from the flight deck if
you listen closely.
• Sound level mixing was done over many hundreds of hours in
order to provide the best mix of sounds to accurately replicate the
cockpit sound environment.
• The airflow sound into the cockpit of the NG is easily the greatest
contributor to noise. The sound volume you will experience is
directly related to the amount of airflow being provided by packs
and recirc fans. (HINT: You can greatly reduce the cockpit noise
level by turning the recirc fan off in the 600/700 and the right
recirc fan off in the 800/900.)
The PMDG 737NGX is the first product to use our new livery manager in
order to simplify the process of installing and using the hundreds of free
liveries that will appear throughout the life of this product.
The PMDG livery manager can be found by accessing your start menu,
and looking under:
Launching the livery manager will present you with the following windows
stand-alone program screen:
Locating FSX:
When run, the livery manager will inspect your system in order to locate
FSX. Generally speaking, your FSX root directory should be correctly
identified, and appear in the FSX DIRECTORY window:
If for some reason the livery manager cannot determine the location of
FSX, you can use the BROWSE button to assist the applet.
You then drop them into a temporary directory any place on your
computer, and press the Select Livery to Install button:
When pressing this button you will be asked to navigate to the directory
where you have placed all of the livery files. In the example here, we
have placed a dozen liveries in the F:/Temp directory when we
downloaded them.
You can install just a single livery, or you can install a group of liveries all
at one time.
When you click the OPEN button, the livery manager will open each livery
container and conduct an installation process. That installation process
includes the creation of all the required files and folders, as well as adding
the livery to your aircraft.cfg file.
You are done and you can see all of your newly installed liveries listed in
the Installed Liveries window:
To Uninstall a Livery:
Uninstalling a livery is simple. Simply click on the livery in the Installed
Liveries window, and then press the Remove Selected Livery button.
The truly wonderful thing about the PMDG 737NGX is that you will be
discovering new aspects of the simulation for years to come. Just like
flying the line, there is always some new challenge over the horizon that
will help to improve your skills and teach you new lessons about flying.
Don’t get frustrated if you can’t digest the entire airplane all on the first try.
Line pilots flying this magnificent airliner undergo months of training in
order to perform their jobs with precision.
The manuals we have provided will give you all of the information that you
need to operate the airplane, but if you’d like to learn what really makes
the airplane tick and hum, we recommend that you take a look to our
partners over at Angle of Attack Productions.
We encourage you to see what Angle of Attack has done with their
training courses for the PMDG 737NGX.
Head over to Angle of Attack and see what they have to offer.